The Last of Us, but Gayer
by Funips
Summary: After a universal zombie outbreak, the world has plunged into immeasurable catastrophic destruction with no cure in sight. Everything seems bleak and hopeless, until a single strand of hope for a cure is found.
1. Chapter 1

**I've decided that I'm not gonna include my very embarrassing 'prologue' here. (Kind of a crossover with The Last of Us. Simple apocalypse stuff, a dystopian future and such sheer originality wow.)**

 **Anyways, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy!**

 ** _Chapter 1_**

* * *

Kidou wiped an annoying bead of perspiration running down his forehead. It was an exercise in futility, really, because his entire face was rolling with sweat droplets anyway. He blinked strenuously, trying to force his tired eyes to focus on the dark forest path in front of him.

The air was eerily still and undisturbed, seemingly suffocating due to the dense trees surrounding him, with only the continuous chirp of forest crickets serving as a semblance of company. Fudou would roll his eyes if he was with him right now. He could even mentally hear Fudou chiding him to 'suck it up and deal with it like a man', a shitty saying which Fudou seemed to overuse these days. Kidou thought it was utter horseshit.

Speaking of Fudou, the guy had once again surpassed Kidou's expectations of the limit of human stupidity.

Honestly, who in their right mind would sneak out of a high-security quarantine zone _after_ curfew?

Fudou would, of course. He doesn't have a single care in the world for his own safety.

Still, what could possibly be so pressing and urgent that Fudou would do such a thing? Kidou knew, although he would never admit it verbally, that Fudou was not a completely dense person. Sure, he did some idiotic things from time to time, but he was also outstandingly intelligent in times of need, and knew when the right time to be serious was. Kidou gritted his teeth, feeling the ugly claws of trepidation broiling from the pits of his stomach. If something had happened to Fudou...

Kidou finally spotted him at the end of the forest, sitting on the edge of a sharp cliff with his gangly legs dangling off. Kidou, relieved beyond words, pushed through the thick shrubs that blocked his way, and Fudou alertly turned at the noise.

"What the hell? Didn't expect to see _you_ here," Fudou quirked an amused eyebrow, an electrifying glint in his green eyes as the corner of his lips curled into a smirk. "Did you actually—"

Kidou was decidedly _not_ amused, stalking over angrily and giving the other boy a hard smack on the head before he could complete his sentence. Fudou groaned in an exaggerated fashion, shooting him an indignant glare as he rubbed the sore spot.

"Don't you have any sense at all?"

"Jesus Christ— No one asked you to look for me!"

"Would you rather I leave you alone next time? With the possibility that a walker, or worse, a soldier finds and kills you?"

Fudou rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. I can look after myself."

Kidou clicked his tongue in blatant irritation. He really should continue admonishing Fudou for being so utterly illogical and reckless, but there was something about his expression that made Kidou hesitate.

Kidou had never seen him with such a... gentle face. Normally, his face would be scrunched up with either anger or malice, with the sole intention to intimidate anyone who dared to step up to him. Kidou understood that Fudou's hard front was to protect himself, but he so rarely witnessed Fudou's raw emotions that it was almost foreign to see him in one of his most vulnerable moments. The soft gleam of moonlight that fell onto his porcelain-white skin only seemed to fuel this, dusting him with an imperturbable ethereal tenderness.

"You came here to look at the stars?" Kidou pried, noticing that he was gazing at the night sky again, his glassy eyes reflecting the gorgeous glint of the millions of starlight above them.

Fudou made a face. "Well now that you've said it out loud, it sounds fucking stupid."

"I'm not judging you or anything," Kidou said, suppressing a slight chuckle. He settled down beside his friend and threw a glance at the sky, marvelling at the sheer beauty of the massive stretch of booming stars; at the millions of bright starlight dotting the dark cerulean.

It was extraordinarily impressive, to say the least. The panorama was easily a thousand times more mesmerising than it was from the quarantine zone, and Kidou suddenly realised Fudou's unspoken intentions. _He had wanted a place where he could be himself._

It was blindingly obvious that Fudou would never discuss subjects such as his feelings and personal problems to anyone, having decided that displaying any kind of emotion would express his alleged weakness to those around him. Fudou loathed being viewed as 'weak', but still, perhaps he is weak sometimes. He can't always hide behind the façade that he puts up for a reputation, and he can't always suppress the burning feelings that manifest within his soul, constantly fighting for an output. Perhaps, this was his output.

"I'll come here with you if you want," Kidou blurted out embarrassingly without prior contemplation.

Fudou was completely caught off guard for a brief moment, wiping the deer-in-the-headlights expression from his face and promptly replacing it with a hard frown.

Oh god, what was he even saying?

"I mean— I meant that your mother would want me to come, you know. Because it's dangerous and— and stuff."

"In the first place, weren't you super against me coming here because it's dangerous? What's going on with you?"

Fudou extended a hand and slapped it onto Kidou's forehead, his frown coming back twice-fold when the other boy shifted uncomfortably under his touch.

"Your face is red. Are you alright?" Fudou teased in a patronising voice, a predatory grin forming on his face as Kidou indignantly swatted his hand away, an infuriated glare in his eyes.

"You—!"

"Alright then," Fudou cut him off, not really in the mood to sit through another lecture session. "You can come with me next time, but just make sure you don't slow me down."

"Hmph. I could say the exact same thing to you."


	2. Chapter 2

**To be completely honest, I actually had little to no idea on what was going on in this chapter. I sort of rushed through it, so it's undeniably messy and at nyoom speed.**

 **Nevertheless, please enjoy!**

 ** _Chapter 2_**

* * *

Fudou stifled an embarrassingly colossal yawn, feeling the fatigue of a sleepless night weighing down on his eyelids. Still, he forced himself to admire the starry view just for a moment longer, knowing that it would be difficult to obtain another opportunity to capture this caliber of scenic beauty again. The moon was in its fullest prime now, demanding absolute attention amongst the twinkling cerulean with its spectacular blue tinge.

Yet, somehow, he couldn't stop himself from shifting his gaze back onto his companion.

Mutely, he seared the sight of Kidou quietly gazing at the night sky deep into the crevices of his memory. It was almost too good to be true— this level of unmitigated tranquility they were in. They were undisturbed, alone yet together, even if it was just for a brief, passing moment in time. Fudou couldn't control the soft smile forming across his lips, wondering if the world was as peaceful as this before.

The evening air started to envelop them in a freezing chill, soaking through their jackets and staining their skin with uncomfortable goosebumps.

"We should head back," Fudou suggested when he spots Kidou shivering slightly. He languidly stood and stretched out his sore limbs. "It's gonna be dawn soon."

The other boy nodded in agreement rather tepidly, a tired sigh escaping his lips as he accepted Fudou's offered hand.

Their only way back into the quarantine zone was through an underground sewage tunnel which was a long, winding stretch of a dilapidated drainage system, supposedly left abandoned in the wake of the apocalypse. There was a ceiling breakage at a specific end of it, linking the quarantine zone and the outside world with a two-metre high ledge. Even though they weren't that far off from the tunnel, the sheer anomaly of their bizarre evening adventure made Kidou feel miles away from the safe world he knew.

Long roping tendrils of vines scraped at their legs as Fudou led the way back, and surprisingly, it takes them no more than five minutes to reach the entrance of the tunnel.

"It's completely dark inside," Kidou said, reaching for the flashlight that was bounded to his belt and shooting his companion a doubtful frown. "You're lucky I brought this with me. You didn't bring one, did you?"

Fudou shrugged his shoulders and threw his hands in the air, forcing Kidou to let out a loud sigh while rolling his eyes in disapproval. He wondered why he had even bothered asking in the first place. Such an action was expected of him, and Kidou knew subjectively that no matter how much chiding he shot at the other boy, neither his mannerisms nor behavior would ever change.

He flicked on the switch, and the dull, circular glare of light shone right at a walker.

Kidou inhaled sharply, the beam of the flashlight uncontrollably trembling for a fleeting moment. It was a couple of metres away, fortunately, with its back still facing them. The sight of it was incredibly unnerving, with its body twitching and jolting uncontrollably, reminiscent of seizure movements but with broken bones.

Kidou watched it with exponentially fluctuating breaths, the goosebumps rising on the back of his neck as he's helplessly frozen to his spot. The rotting corpse gradually turned, almost sluggishly, to reveal the horrendous remains of what was once a face. There were chunks of decomposed blackened flesh hanging by fragile threads of rough grey skin, with tiny maggots swimming in the bloody crevices of exposed muscle tissue. The sunken eyes were glazed over with a cloud of silver, a dead sight they'd seen many times before.

He pulled out his revolver instinctively, aiming it straight at its distorted face as it ripped out a bloodcurdling scream and vigorously lunged towards him, stumbling over its broken ankles.

"Don't!" Came a harsh whisper. "Don't shoot!"

The jolting realization that the soldiers would hear the gunshot if he fired caused him to hesitate, his finger accidentally slipping over the trigger of the gun as the walker pounced onto him. It released a monstrous growl as it forced him down onto the ground, clawing and fighting to sink its teeth into fresh meat.

Kidou pushed it away from his face, the gangrenous stench of rotting meat wafting into his lungs and forcing bile to rise up into his throat. He desperately wrestled for his life, his mind screaming at him to _get out of its grip_. Instinctively, he raised his arms as it cracked open its loose jaw, revealing a full set of abnormally large and squarish teeth with a revolting substance dripping from the rim of the opening.

"FUDOU!"

In the next blurry moment the burdening weight above him is miraculously lifted and the walker crashed heavily onto the concrete, it's body contorting into broken angles.

Fudou immediately dashed over and brutally rammed his foot into its ribcage again, sending it flying to the wall before grabbing its head and violently smashing it onto the ground. There was a explicit squelch, Fudou turning up his nose in absolute repugnance as the putrid contents of its infected body began to steadily leak out, staining the air with the pungent stench of rancid meat.

"It's dead now. I smashed its head open," He picked up the fallen flashlight and turned back to Kidou, a triumphant grin gracing his face, but it completely came crashing down when he saw him still thrashing in agony on the ground.

Oh _god._

"Oh no. Oh no no no no."

Fudou rushed over to his side, his knees failing him at the last second. Shakily, he picked Kidou up into his arms, pushing away damp locks of hair from his face. Despite the dim light, his face was still visibly clammy, contorted in pain with trickles of sweat dotting his skin and his lustre perceptibly dissipating. His eyes tightly clamp shut in anguish, pitiful sobs fleeting from his lips as Fudou gingerly pried his hand away from the wound, revealing a sickeningly bloody bite mark.

"It— It hurts," Kidou uttered in a voice no louder than a hushed whisper, sounding as if he was about to pass out at any given moment. Fudou couldn't even blame him if he actually _did_ faint. The skin of his forearm was cruelly ripped open, gashing wide and overflowing with blood, with the teethmarks of the walker imbedded deeply into the palm-sized wound.

"I know it does, but you have to stay strong okay? You're going to be alright. I promise. Stay awake for me now. Please stay awake."

Fudou's voice was shaking with raw fear and panic, and he felt a nauseating wave of helplessness wash over him.

A series of muffled inhumane clicking and moaning savagely derails Fudou's whirling train of thought, growing increasingly louder and distinct with every passing second. Their brawl had definitely attracted unwanted company.

"Kidou, we have to run,"Fudou hissed harshly, forcefully yanking him up from the ground as the first terrifying silhouette of a walker appeared at the tunnel entrance, staring at them with soulless silvery eyes.

"We have to run _now!"_

Fudou firmly grabbed hold of Kidou's wrist and broke into a full sprint, the world behind them bursting into an explosion of ear-piercing shrieks. His vision narrowed down to the seemingly endless, dimly-illuminated path in front of him, and his mind lashed out to remember the internal structure of the tunnel. With a sinking sense of dread, he realized that one wrong turn could lead to their unsightly deaths, given that there was only one exit left.

Kidou continuously stumbled over his own feet, dipping in and out of consciousness with his brain desperately trying and failing to keep up with the strenuous efforts of his exhausted body. Fudou was arduously pulling him along, and this was collectively slowing down their running speed. He clenched his teeth as the furious wave of biting and clawing walkers got increasingly hot on their heels, roughly shoving and tumbling over one another to get to them.

The aching sting of his calves was gradually manifesting, the adrenaline pumping through his veins wearing thin, yet he still scoops an unconscious Kidou up into his arms. It was a rather tiring feat, with absolutely no support from Kidou's side.

"We're almost there!" Fudou shouted breathlessly when the transcendent sight of the ledge finally appeared before them after countless of twists and turns. Without missing a beat, he hoisted Kidou over the concrete block before jumping and catching hold of the edge, his long legs making it easy for him to swing his body across—

A rough hand caught hold of his dangling leg.

"For fuck's sake!" He glanced down into the malicious grin of a walker as its snaking fingers dug into his skin in an attempt to drag him back down. He jabbed a powerful kick into its face and thankfully, the release of his foot was immediate. Hurriedly, he scrambled over the ledge just as the rest of the swarm crashed into the dead end, finally collapsing onto the cool surface of the floor. An overwhelming sense of relief replaced the adrenaline rush in his veins, soaking his tired muscles in an uncomfortable acidic bath. They were both immoderately panting, trying to regain their depleted breaths from their tiring sprint.

Fudou's respite doesn't last long, however.

A tight ball of regret curled up in the pits of his stomach as he crawled towards his friend.

If only he hadn't went out tonight, none of this would've happened. Undeniably, Kidou got bitten because of his stupid actions. It was entirely and utterly Fudou's fault. Now, there was absolutely nothing he could do to change Kidou's fate. Could he even live with that? The guilt of what his spontaneous actions had done? The guilt of causing a friend's death?

Gently, with trembling fingers, he propped Kidou up against the wall. Even though he knew it would do nothing to help, he took his shirt off and folded it into a long strip of cloth before wrapping it around the injury and tying it in a firm knot.

Kidou's eyes flickered open weakly, his glossy red pupils staring straight into Fudou's soul. They were as piercing as ever, with an indescribable beauty to them. Fudou crumbled like paper at the sight.

"I—I'm sorry, Kidou," Fudou stuttered out in a tender tone unbefitting of him. Every bit of the confident thug he once was was torn down effortlessly in an instant.

"I'm so fucking _sorry_."

His dirty hands desperately clasped onto Kidou's, tangling their bony fingers together. He refused to meet the other's gaze directly. Or rather, he couldn't bring himself to do so.

"It's okay."

Fudou snapped his head up in shock. What was Kidou even saying? Was he _forgiving_ him? Just like that? Fudou had basically robbed him of his life, there was no way...

Kidou lightly returned his tight grasp, nonchalantly stroking Fudou's hand with his thumb in an almost comforting manner.

"It was bound to happen anyway. We both knew that. I'm just sad that I can't be with you longer than this." He smiled faintly, sadly, but with a teasing glint in his ruby red eyes. "But still, tolerating you for 4 years is quite an achievement."

Fudou blinked once, then twice. He couldn't believe his ears; Was Kidou seriously cracking a joke in this situation?

Fudou frowned poignantly, dipping his remorseful gaze back onto their intertwined hands. "But if I hadn't—"

Kidou shook his head.

"I... don't regret coming out tonight."

That was the breaking point. Fudou's tears, which he'd kept unshed and suppressed for so many years, come spilling out of his eyes. His sobbing was quiet, resembling his reticent personality, with sharp jittering breaths escaping his downturned lips. How could Kidou forgive him so easily after what he had done to him? The gentle words and kindness pulled at his heart, and he prayed, hoped, begged to the skies to let them be together for longer than this.

He _wanted_ them to be together for longer than this.

His hands sought for Kidou's warmth, winding around the other's back and pressing them together as close as it was humanely possible. "Thank you," he whispered, burying his face into Kidou's hair. "I'll be with you till the end, okay?"

Kidou nodded, although the other couldn't see it. His wet eyes blinked away tears as his fingers curled around the cold, ruthless metal of his gun.


	3. Chapter 3

**This is their first time meeting each other cause why the hell not?**

 **They're young and impressionable, so** **I wanted Fudou to be extra rough and seemingly trying too hard to be intimidating, which surprisingly works to mildly scare Kidou.**

 ** _Chapter 3_**

* * *

 _"And who the hell are you?"_

Kidou glared at the boy who spoke, defiantly countering his sinister scowl with his own fierce one. He couldn't afford to be intimidated— _definitely not_ in front of a gang leader, surrounded by his crude lackeys sending him death threats with their cutting glares.

He took in a shaky breath, trying his best to calm his nerves. There was no reason to be afraid. After all, he was nothing more than just another young punk with a callous attitude.

"Kidou Yuuto," he replied firmly, in the boldest voice he could possibly manage.

The gangster's scowl hardened, as if contemplating whether or not Kidou was worth his time. He had a malevolent face, Kidou noted, with piercing, cynical green eyes and a stupid mohawk that reminded him of a turnip. He wondered what would happen if he yanked him up by his hair.

"And what do you want? It'd better be important. I'm a busy man."

Kidou wanted to scoff. _Man?_ He was barely a teenager! Kidou hadn't even met him for 5 minutes and he was already sick to the stomach with his shitty personality.

But still, he had to do it. It was for his own protection after all. He'd rather work with this idiot of a gang leader than be at the mercy of others.

"I want to join your gang," Kidou stated, steeling his gaze. "You're the boss, right?"

Muffled chatter broke out amongst the gang members, all of them shooting him judgemental looks and raising their eyebrows at their leader, anticipating his response.

Condescending green eyes tore through Kidou's core.

"And what makes you think I'll let someone like you join?"

The words were delivered acerbically, burning through skin like straight acid.

Ah, of course.

Kidou ignored the boy's contemptuous words and suppressed a smile; He had expected to be questioned like this. The interview for recruitment began.

"Well, I'm—"

"You're too soft," the boy said in a dismissive tone, rudely cutting him off as if he wasn't even worth listening to. "I won't let someone weak into my group."

 _Weak?_ Kidou pursed his lips tightly, indignation and heat bubbling from his chest and rising to his neck. How dare he! How the hell could he make a definite judgement on someone's strength and worth based on just a mere glance?!

The words were out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

"There's more than one type of strength, and you must be a pretty lousy leader if you can't see that. I'm strong in my own ways, and you shouldn't judge people based on appearances alone. I am not weak," Kidou snarled acrimoniously, masking his trembling fingers with balled fists.

"I am _not_ weak."

The alley went dead silent, everyone holding their breaths in suspense as the boy looked at him with a chillingly empty stare. But Kidou could tell that thousands of ambivalent thoughts were running rampant through his mind.

He was actually considering!

Kidou didn't dare to break the staring contest, forcing himself to stand his ground. Averting his gaze now would contradict his previous statement.

Finally, the boy cracked a lopsided smirk and let out a raspy laugh, suddenly amused at Kidou's outburst. He moved closer and pinched his cheek, causing him to wince in pain.

"You're really something, huh? I misjudged you, Kidou Yuuto."

"Ah!" Kidou didn't expect him to be so courteous with his words all of the sudden. He was almost certain that a punch would come flying at his face.

Seems like they had both misjudged each other.

"Does that mean that I'm...?"

"Yeah," the boy's smirk widened into a satisfied grin. "The name's Fudou Akio. Welcome to the team."


	4. Chapter 4

**Sakuma is here! He's truly a great friend and anyone can tell that he cares a lot for Kidou, and perhaps even for Fudou.**

 **He strikes me as an emotionally volatile person as well. He's never afraid of raising his voice (or his fists) to protect the people that matter to him.**

 **Anyways, thank you for reading and please enjoy!**

 _ **Chapter 4**_

* * *

For the majority of five hours, they were caught in a tangle of limbs, blood stains and dried tears.

Five hours, and Kidou's infected bite still hadn't spread to the rest of his body, or more specifically, to his brain.

It was an indisputable miracle; Fudou looked at him as if he were the second coming of Christ. He had actually counted down the hours on his rusted watch, becoming increasingly bewildered every minute that passed. There was no discoloration of his skin (besides the clamminess from pain and blood loss), no signs of aggression and his eyes were still as clear as glass.

It simply wasn't possible. The longest period of time that someone had remained sane after being bitten was a little above an hour. Fudou wondered if it was just a delayed reaction in Kidou's body, if it was nothing more than an unexpected anomaly of the virus. Despite the many decades since the disease outbreak, little information had been uncovered about the origin and details of the virus itself. It wasn't surprising really, since government scientists weren't excluded from the unforgiving, cruel and long arm of the prevalent infection.

Fudou anxiously tapped the barrel of the gun against his wrist, waiting for his companion to awaken. He had to forcibly wring the weapon out of Kidou's grasp and knock him out by the back of his neck.

Kidou had almost shot himself.

 _"Please, I don't want to hurt you."_

Fudou squeezed the bridge of his nose between his fingers. His entire torso was trembling in trepidation that Kidou would ultimately, imminently turn into one of those _things_. He had basically no idea what course of action to take either. Should he take the risk and bring him back into the quarantine zone? But, doing so would lead to a potential outbreak _inside_ one of the last few safe zones of Tokyo. It wouldn't be a responsible decision to endanger the other civilians, however they couldn't stay in the tunnel forever, not when Kidou's wound was starting to spew out yellow pus. If the virus wouldn't kill him, normal bacterial infection would.

Moreover, Kidou might, and here Fudou held his breath.

Kidou _might_ just be immune.

The abrupt static from his radio transceiver jolted him out of his thoughts, and quickly he yanked it from his waistband. It was a small, black device, and incredibly useful. He had stolen a couple of them from the guard's office a few years back, and it had allowed him to communicate with the other members of the group effectively, proving to be highly efficient in many occasions. There was only one person capable of calling him now, since Fudou had trusted him with the other set. He was the one person Fudou did _not_ want to talk to in his current situation.

The device in his hand turned into a frightening black machine, one that he wanted to smash onto the wall and watch shatter into a million pieces. He knew he had to face the consequences of his actions eventually, but he definitely wasn't prepared for it. How could he ever explain what he had done?

The repetitive buzzing subsided when he finally pressed the button, his jittering fingers bringing it up to his ear.

"Fudou! Where the _hell_ are you? It's almost midday! Is Kidou with you?"

Sakuma's loud voice sounded strangely dislocated through the speaker, yet it was still as sharp and shrill as per usual. Fudou drew in a shaky breath, regretting ever giving the transmitter to one of the most temperamental people he'd ever met.

"He— he got bitten," Fudou admitted, shutting his eyes. "A couple hours back, but somehow he's... still... still human."

The silence that ensued was undeniably petrifying. He could almost imagine Sakuma's face hardening into a mask of disbelief, and the realizing thought of how much Kidou meant to Sakuma struck his chest like a bullet wound. Sakuma treasured Kidou as a close friend, as a confidant and the person he would go to for advice. Their friendship was unbreakable, tight and well-bonded over years of knowing each other. Fudou ground his teeth together, his nails digging into the palms of his sweaty hands.

"It was my fault," Fudou continued, the confident voice that he wore so often draining into nothing but a guilty husk.

"I went outside through the tunnel, and he went after me. We wanted to come back, but he— he got bit. It's all my fault."

"...You...you _what_...?" Anger— No, raw wrath and fury dripped from his every word, the syllables painfully dragging out as if he were having trouble choking them out of his throat. Out of all his ferocious outbursts of rage, Fudou had never heard Sakuma's voice in such a toxic and belligerent tone.

" _Kidou got bitten?_ I can't fucking _believe_ you, Fudou!" Sakuma was so close to screaming that Fudou had to pull the device away from his ear. "Please tell me you're joking. Are you serious? You let Kidou get _infected?_ Are you _fucking_ serious?"

"He hasn't turned," Fudou interrupted hastily, clearing his throat as his voice faltered. "It's been at least five hours."

Sakuma was temporarily dumbfounded, but the rage promptly rushed back as vexation.

"Where is he? Where are you both? Wait, you know what, that doesn't matter. Bring him back to your place, now. You hear me?! _Now._ "

With that, white static blasted back into Fudou's ear. Sakuma had slammed off the transceiver in the midst of his infuriation, and judging from his colorful words, he probably wouldn't mind seeing Fudou's head on a skewer at the moment.

Not that Fudou expected to be doused in forgiveness and understanding in the first place.

* * *

The front door burst open violently, the wooden frame slamming against the drywall and rattling the entire living room's scarce furniture.

Fudou unsteadily staggered into the room, arduously limping with Kidou's arm draped heavily over his shoulders.

"Ma," he called out, or rather, shouted. "Ma!"

Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to call for his mother when he looked like he'd just been through hell. His entire body was splotched in sweat, mud and partially-dried blood. His exhausted eyes were droopy and red-rimmed, his hair chaotically sticking out at different angles with the front locks clinging desperately onto his pallid face.

Kidou didn't look much better either.

"Fudou... Where are we?"

A feeble voice, but a voice nonetheless. Fudou couldn't even find the words to describe his relief and happiness of hearing Kidou speak for another day.

"We're back at my place. You gotta rest, okay? I'll get you some bandages and water."

Kidou managed a small nod and a grunt as a response, heavily collapsing onto the hard sofa as soon as Fudou guided him there.

The soft shuffling from the kitchenette made Fudou flick a glance up to see his mother.

"Akio. You're home at last," She wiped her hands on her skirt as she appeared in the kitchen doorway. The sight of her petite frame had always managed to give Fudou a sense of reassurance in the past, but now all he could feel was pure, unadulterated dread pulling at his stomach like an invisible vice.

Fudou unconsciously scrutinized her appearance, penitence washing over him when he observed that she looked fatigued and downright _lonely_ , an expression that he realized was more often there than not. She had subtle eye bags framing her glazed jade eyes and her chestnut hair seemed to flutter in the glare of the sunlight through the open window, appearing about as thin and translucent as spider webs. It was a baffling process, Fudou thought. She seemed to have aged decades since the last time he'd seen her. Then again, Fudou couldn't even remember when he had last been home.

Fudou had always been conflicted of his feelings towards her. A part of him yearned for her love and approval, yet another darker side of his heart loathed her for forcing him to mature far too quickly. He was always pressured to be stronger, tougher, bolder, all for her not to gaze upon him with crestfallen eyes. He had promised himself, when he was young, to never become like her. She was the definition of weak, akin to that of a porcelain vase, a delicate flower, and Fudou had always seen her as such. She was a soft-spoken, fragile woman in constant need of protection, in need of a son strong enough to provide her with safety and stability. Yet even though she was his mother, she was never able to protect him.

She gasped at the sight of him, her pale face twisting into one of shock. "Akio! What happened to you?! What's going on? Why are you covered in blood?!"

A thousand excuses flitted through his head, trying desperately to think of a good enough reason for his disheveled appearance. Her questioning gaze dipped down to Kidou, who was still clasping onto his injured arm.

"We got jumped on our way back," was what he eventually settled for, smoothly lying through his teeth. Fresh sweat droplets sprouted and poured down his face as he caught her stony stare, and instinctively he moved to block the sight of Kidou.

Realization blossomed on her face, her brows furrowing into a pretty little 'v' as she balled her fists, knuckles sizzling ice-white with anger. "Just who do you think I am? I am your _mother_ , Akio. You couldn't lie to me even if your life depended on it. Tell me the truth," she spat irritably, stomping forward without waiting for a response.

Without missing a beat, she shoved him out of the way and snatched Kidou's arm up, immediately dropping it like a hot iron when she caught sight of the tell-tale teethmarks dotted on his skin.

"You brought an infected person into the quarantine zone?!" She cried, her voice wavering on a thin line between panic and fear. "Have you gone insane?! Why did you bring him here? Do you have _any_ idea of the amount of danger you put us in?!"

"He's different!" Fudou rebutted, clamping his large hands onto her shoulders in a futile attempt to keep her from hyperventilating. "He hasn't turned in nearly five hours now. I think he might be immune!"

His words were paper pellets to a bullet-proof vest. She pushed him away and shuffled back like she was facing a serial killer instead of her own son, pearl droplets forming on her waterline and diving down her bloodless cheeks. She placed her hands over her mouth and cast him the one look she knew would tear his heart apart. _The look of utter disappointment._

"This isn't just about you, Akio. What have you done..." She spoke in a soft, detached voice before she turned and ran, but her words still reverberated within his skull, getting louder and louder, sending the sharpest pain straight through his body until he doesn't even notice that the front door has closed and he's left completely alone in the world.

How many times had he played this scene in his head? How many times had he mentally prepared himself for this exact scenario? The tightening curl of her lips, her hooded eyes withering into dry frost, the last traces of whatever little love she had for him dissipating from her face. It was his literal worst nightmare to be seen as nothing, to be worth nothing, to be abandoned like he was nothing. It was the reason why he had kept a distance from his own mother in the first place. What did she even expect from a six-year-old boy with shivering hands? The gripping fear of not living up to her high expectations was enough for him to build a thick wall around his heart, leaving it isolated and barren. He had taught himself to carve strength into the void, convincing himself that it was all he needed to survive.

Even after all his efforts to shut her out, she still was everything he had.

"Fudou, are you alright?" Kidou's softhearted voice drifted into his raging thoughts.

Right. How could he forget? He still had Kidou by his side.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's get you patched up." He wiped his wet face with the back of his hand, snuffing out his emotions and pretending that he hadn't just been on the edge of having a complete mental breakdown. Kidou had been asleep during the entire ordeal, and thankfully he had enough emotional sensitivity to keep himself from prying.

Fudou brought the medical box to his injured friend. It was a reasonably easy process with nothing complicated in the least. Fudou had treated countless injuries, cuts and bruises before this. All he really needed was some water, antiseptic ointment, gauze and bandages. He wiped off the excess pus, added pressure to stop the bleeding and tenderly dressed the various breakages in the skin before wrapping Kidou's entire forearm with bandages. He was finally at ease that the bacterial infection was contained at the moment. Alleviated inflammatory pain was one of the worst things that could happen to an open wound, and he could only imagine the amount of pain Kidou had to endure up until now.

The front door slammed open for the second time in the day, the force used this time around so brutal that the metal hinges flung off the wall and the entire main entrance came crashing down in a chaotic mess.

Sakuma doesn't even glance back at the destruction he caused, his single amber eye blown wide and overflowing with unmitigated ire, solely focused on Fudou's frame. The guilty convict stood up at his arrival, which only served to inflate Sakuma's already immeasurable ferocity.

"You son of a bitch!" Sakuma's hard fist connected squarely with Fudou's cheek, forcing him to stumble back, his shoulders slumped in defeat. Sakuma's conniption through the transceiver was apparently just the tip of the iceberg, the entirety of his vehemence now brazenly displayed for all to see. Fudou doesn't glare at him, doesn't snarl, doesn't do anything. He had absolutely no right to defend himself, hopelessly savoring the thought that Sakuma would deliver a punch hard enough to break his jaw. He deserved all the pain and agony in the world for what he had put Kidou through.

"You're the boss, Fudou! You're supposed to protect your members! I'd understand if this was a non-serious injury, but he almost died _because_ of you! You placed him in danger when you promised to protect him! What were you even thinking?!" Sakuma grabbed the collar of his shirt, yanking him up and baring his teeth. Fudou was as limp as a ragdoll in his grasp.

"S—Stop! Stop hitting him!" Kidou shouted, or at least he did an airy, exhausted version of one. He strained his tired muscles to push his body up and seize Sakuma's raised fist. "He saved me, Sakuma. We got chased by tons of walkers in the tunnel— hundreds of them. He carried me and ran all the way back although I had already been bitten. He... he even stopped me from killing myself. Please don't hit him."

His pleading words thankfully seemed to cut through Sakuma's fury, acting like a tranquilizer in a way. The anger visibly diminished from his rigid stance, warmth gradually flowing back into his face. Almost begrudgingly, he released his hold on Fudou and shot him a dirty glare. "Fine."

"So, _boss_ , what are you going to do," Sakuma said flatly when Fudou gave no response, his tone leaning more towards a statement than a question. "What's the big plan? If Kidou is immune, doesn't that mean that he's the cure? What now?"

Sakuma made no effort to hide his cynicism.

"First off, we need to find the people who are still working on a cure. Scientists—independent scientists might know what to do," Fudou replied, locking his dauntless gaze with Sakuma's. Hadn't he been overwhelmed with remorse just moments before?

Uneasiness rolled into the stagnant air. For once, Sakuma wished that Fudou, who was as irritatingly commanding as usual, didn't always have an answer in the blink of an eye. Finding independent scientists? That would mean leaving the quarantine zone and also drawing target boards on their foreheads. Was Fudou suggesting to place themselves in death's jaws _again_?

"I overheard some patrolling soldiers talking about scientists about a month ago. They said a group of private researchers are gathered in Shibuya. That's where their base is, apparently," Kidou said.

Sakuma couldn't believe his ears. Was Kidou actually going along with Fudou's suicide plan? He opened his mouth, but promptly shut it when he remembered that Kidou could be the world's salvation.

"I'd say that's about fifteen to twenty miles away from the underground tunnel. That's less than a day's worth of travel," Fudou said, finally easing his tensed muscles. He definitely had experience with traveling outside the walls, having taken illegal jobs of smuggling and trading goods, although he had never been further than Shinjuku. Still, it was feasible to get there.

Kidou dug his fingers into the hem of his shirt, feeling cold butterflies wriggle in the pits of his stomach. It was a huge responsibility to be the possible savior of humanity, and that realization was starting to dawn onto him.

"Well, the important thing now is to keep Kidou's condition an absolute secret," Sakuma sighed. Although he disapproved of the plan, there was nothing he could argue about when the fate of the world depended on this. Depended on Kidou. "He's not fit to travel until he's completely healed."

Fudou's hazy memory abruptly cleared at the sentence, remembering that his mother had figured out what happened to Kidou, and remembering that she was an indubitably hysterical and emotionally-unstable woman.

"Wait, where's my mom?"

His heart leaped to his throat as he rushed to the window and leaned out until his stomach was dangerously bent over the metal pane, hoping to catch a glimpse of her vintage flower skirt and tousled hair on the barren streets. _There!_ Fudou spotted her fairly easily, about three to four blocks away from their apartment complex. A group of patrolling soldiers had formed a ring akin to that of a cult circle around her as she made wild gestures in their direction, her mouth forming incomprehensible words. Fudou didn't need to hear what she was saying to know what she had done.

 _No freaking way._

Time seemed to have stagnated, tossing Fudou into a vacuum as he watched her arm rise with a deathly slowness, a bony witch finger uncurling, unraveling, pointing rod-straight at their window.

Fudou instantly pulled back from the window ledge, apprehension thumping in his chest like a sledgehammer as his blank head fuzzed over. _Oh god, when will it end?_ He was trapped in a never-ending nightmare, with life-threatening events greeting him at every corner.

Sakuma's brows knitted together at his uncomfortably stiff stature, skeptically staring at him like he had gone mad.

"My mother's informing the soldiers. We have to go," Fudou muttered grimly to no one in particular, his feet stumbling about in confusion for a brief moment.

"Why? What did she tell them?" Sakuma asked worriedly as Fudou bolted around, grabbing a pair of backpacks and tossing one to Kidou, who was getting progressively stressed from all of the commotion.

"She knows! She saw Kidou's bite! We have to go!"

Kidou forced himself up from the couch, visibly shaken by Fudou's warning. Sakuma could tell that he wanted nothing more than a few extra minutes of rest, which he rightfully deserved, but he could do no such thing if he wanted to live for another day. With unsteady steps he followed a frantic Fudou into the kitchen to grab bottles of water and medical supplies.

Sakuma scoffed at the sight, scrunching up his nose and folding his arms in disbelief as his two friends ridiculously scrambled around the apartment. This was Fudou's _mother_ they were talking about. What kind of mother would purposefully betray her own son? The very idea of it was preposterous.

"Could you calm down? Jesus, Fudou, you're _such_ a drama queen. There's no way your mother told the guards about Kidou."

The gunshot came right as Sakuma finished his sentence.


End file.
